Tech giant Elon Musk legally challenged the California government on Friday, September 8, over requiring social media companies to publish moderation politics including how they police disinformation, hate speech, and extremism. He has challenged the constitutionality of the new state law which lists new transparency policies for the social media companies.Elon Musk who is the owner of the social media platform X (Twitter) has filed a complaint in federal court in Sacramento, California, as per media reports. The true aim of the law is to pressure social media companies into eliminating content the state found objectionable, alleged the social media firm.By doing so, California is forcing companies to adopt the states views on politically charged issues, “a form of compelled speech in and of itself,” X said.Worth reading our actual legal filing vs what you may see in the media https://t.co/fsLCUeUINq— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2023What is this new law about This is a first-of-its-kind legislation that was signed into law a year ago by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying the state would not let social media be “weaponised” to spread hate and disinformation.Civil rights groups including the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Countering Digital Hate have identified increases in the volume of hate speech on X targeting Jews, Blacks, gay men, and trans persons since Musk took over last year after he bought the company for US$44 billion.The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, which enforces state laws, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.The Assembly Bill 587 violates its free speech rights under the US Constitutions First Amendment and Californias state constitution said X (Twitter).This law makes it mandatory for social media firms with at least $100 million of gross annual revenue to issue semiannual reports that describe their content moderation practices, and also provide data on objectional posts and how they were addressed.The law also requires companies to provide copies of their terms of service. Failure to comply risks civil fines of up to $15,000 per violation per day.
